I have always been a history buff, and book worm. Then in 2009 I started this journey on my own family, and it has been the most exciting journey ever! I am soooooo pumped! Now, if possible, I would like to be of help to others, as so many have been to me. I am a grandmother of 11, mother of 3, I work two jobs, and I am an amateur geneologist as often as possible.If I accept your photo request, I will automatically look for others with the same family name close by and photograph those stones as well. If it is at Veterans I will automatically look for the spouse info on the back of the stone if available. Kris

RE: Laura McGowanI went to ancestry.com. On there I did a search for Laura McGowan, then added under the search terms John & James McGowan separately as spouse and sibling. That pulled up one vague record that might have more information to help you. I'll keep looking.

RE: Laura McGowanThe last question is are we sure that they stayed in Colorado, and Laura did not do what a lot of people do, and move closer to family after her husband's passing. I know that complicates things but it is something to keep in mind while searching. People depend on family when they are grieving. Take it from someone going through it right now without my friends and family I would probably be a bigger mess than I already am.

RE: Laura McGowanMy Mom uses ancestry.com to find the census records, marriage, and military records to find my ancestors. I just did a search and did not realize how many McGowan's were buried, and lived in Denver overall. Apparently, there are quite a few, and that is what is making things difficult. The census records are the most reliable for finding ancestral connections.

But if you can find both obituaries, for both James & John McGowan that might narrow the relatives down to where you can track one or two to find out what happened to them. I'll do some looking too.

RE: Laura McGowanThere has to be a definitive way to figure this out. I am working 60hrs this week but I am off all of next week, and I would love to help. If we can find the marriage certificate or census records we can find out for sure who is married to whom. I'll see what I can do as soon as I get a chance.